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I'm thinking of playing an archer type character (simply because I haven't yet done so). I was planning to make it a Ranger/Arcane archer, though Rogue isn't completely out of the question either.

My basic question is; should take only one level of an arcane caster and concentrate only on range/arcane archer levels? Atleast wizard/sorcerer levels seem to go to waste since only a couple levels on those won't be much use.

What about Bard? Would for example 4-6 levels of that give some useful benefits. I'm not looking to powerplay, so a few levels lower on principal classes is quite allright if some other useful skills or feats are gained instead.

What about Ranger vs Rogue then? My current thought is to do high-dex archer character that would dual-wield when forced to melee (with finesse feat, of course) which would definitely mean a ranger. But if someone has an interesting (not necessarily uber-powerful) rogue concept in mind I'd like to get some ideas on those aswell.

Ibuilt my arcane archer around a paladin, but i took only one level as a wizard, but the bard has its merits (can buff him/herself).
As for a good bow ask the Guarsian of Helms Hold for the magical weapon, he will give you a elven court bow. For me this is the weapon of choice until i get into the expansions.

Ranger/Rogue also has merits, animal companion and the sneak attack of the rogue.
I am presently building a arcane archer around a monk, still in the early stages, but fun to play.

Didn't get much advice here last time, but anyway...

I decided to go with Ranger/Arcane archer with 1 level of Bard. I experimented a bit before starting to play and came to the conclusion that I would need 8-10 levels of Bard to have any true benefits from it (namely Bard song/Curse song) which was more then I was willing to sacrifice from the other classes.

I've now almost done with OC, and I am quite happy with the equipment I've gathered so far. But I'd like your opinions on what (long)bow would be best overall (expansions included). I am now using Ripper (+3/mighty +4/spell immunity: mind affecting). Are there bows available that would have damage types that would be effective in the more difficult "boss" fights, or should I just pick something with buffing abilities and upgrade the weapon later on by the Hotu smith?

i played as a wizard1/arcane archer/ranger once and i used a composite longbow +something (the best i could find in hotu) then upgraded it in the underdark and it became a very powerful and effective weapon. i ended up using it all the way til the end of the game. my advice is to make it so it fires acid arrows as pretty much every enemy you meet, including the tougher bosses, seem to be vulnerable to acid

Okay, I already new about the effectiveness of Acid. I have played the game all the way through several times before, just never with a pure archer.

I guess I should keep my eyes open for bows with enhancements the smith cannot add, like the Ripper I now use. Immunity against mind affecting can be very handy at times.